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Organic Studio Boyle


ClericalWriter

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First Impressions

 

Tyler, from Organic Studio, had posed on Facebook, a few weeks back, that the was trying a line of pens and was offering them to beta testers for a reduced price. In the post, he showed a group of five ebonite pens of varying sizes and of four different colors. The smallest was the Mendeleev. It looked too small and thin. The next two were the same size, the Boyle and the Alchemist, the later having a hooded nib. The next size was the Lavoisier, which looked too big fro my small hands, and the final looked like a large cigar, the Special. The colors were black, red, brown, and green. I found the green most attractive and the Boyle most desirable.

 

When I pulled it out of the wrapper, I thought it was of rather cheap or poor quality. It was light, the fittings weren't terribly shiny. The white embossed name on the pen was unique in my experience and seemed poorly done. This impression would prove to be false.

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Appearance and Design

 

I'm a sucker for the look of ebonite pens. This one delivers that, very well, especially in the cap. It looks like black ink flowed into the fabric of a healthy leaf. This, along with the excitement of owning one early on in production, attracted me most to the pen.

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Embossed on one side is "OS Boyle" in white stamping. At first this attributed to my impression of it being cheap, but as I held it and looked at it and wrote with it, I felt like I returned to the 1920's (why? I have no clue). The white lettering gives it an old-timey feel.

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The fittings seem to be made of plastic or a dull metal. There is a band at the bottom of the cap. The clip starts at the black finial and comes down. On the clip is Organic Studio's Indian manufacturer, Ratnamson

 

Construction and Quality

 

The pen is light. At first, I chalked it up to cheap, but then I got the idea that it was intentionally made light. This is the kind of pen with which a book could be written. Your hand can use it for long periods of time without fatigue. That makes the pen a serious though the extended writer.

 

The clip looks weak but again looks are deceiving. I can withstand a bit a beating. It's solidly build and yet has enough give to be put in and taken out of pockets without much difficulty.

 

The grip section is very comfortable especially for my small hands. Larger hands and fingers might find themselves on the top part of the threads. The little lip disallows slippage.

 

Speaking of the threads, there are 9-11 threads for the cap, so ... there is a worry that this cap will 'accidentally' fall off. It secures itself on there like a child to his father's leg. This isn't a quick draw pen for sure, not one fore mere signatures or quick notes. It expects you to sit down and write.

 

Also, there is no need to worry that ink from the body will leak out. There are the same if not more threads to detach the body from the grip sections. It thoroughly seals the body to the grip section.

 

It doesn't have the rugged feel of a Lamy Al-Star, but it isn't a fragile pen either. It might, in certain conditions, crack. So I wouldn't take this on a hunting trip despite its camaflouge-esque look. It would keep on the desk or in a case. if being carried around.

 

Weight and Dimensions

 

As I've mentioned previous, this is a light pen. It feels about the weight of a Pilot Prera, or another similar build small pen.

 

I have a picture here of its comparative size to a Prera and a Safari.

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It posts well without any difficulty and remains there solidly. It is the perfect size for my hands but will still work well in larger, hands when posted. It also remains balanced when posted. The cap doesn't make it top heavy.

 

Nib and Performance

 

Before I go into its performance, the facts:

1) its a two tone German-made iridium nib

2) its only made in medium at this time

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This is where, originally, the pen failed miserably. I filled it with an Italian scented ink that smelled like Pine and had decent color. Because there was a small space for the ink to flow to the feed I wanted to use an ink I didn't care about that much, just in case in wouldn't work. I filled the body, flooded the feed by turning it nib down for a few minutes and then set it aside to let it move more naturally. About 10 minutes later, I took it up to write. It scratched and nothing came out. I pushed down hope to open it up and it finally flowed. "Great! It wrote!" I thought. So I set it aside on my desk to do something else and picked it up an hour or so later. 30 seconds of scratching and I had to unscrew it to make sure there was ink in the body. I wet the nib and it started again. Then, I put is aside for when I had time to write this review. A week later, again it was dry. I wetted the nib, but this time nothing came out. The body was full of ink! I cleared out the ink. Cleaned the pen as best I could and refilled it the next ink in my rotation, Chesterfield Ruby.

 

This became a whole new pen. It flowed much more evenly and didn't even dry up after sitting for periods. With that said, the nib started scratchy with the Ruby, but as the ink flowed, the smoother the nib got. It's not a gold nib, but it doesn't feel like chalk on a chalkboard anymore.

 

It does take two or three strokes to get started, if you've let it sit for longer the a few hours, but after that it doesn't need anymore. It hasn't skipped at all.

 

It does seem to work better with some inks, or it could've been that there were manufacturing gunk in the feed.

 

As for the line itself, it maintains a good consistent line. It holds the size of line between a Lamy M and F. I prepared this review in a paperblanks notebook and it handled well. It writes well on Rhodia as well.

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The nib seems to be form fitted into the grip section but I couldn't pull it out barehanded.

 

Filling System and Maintenance

 

I received the eyedropper version. There is also a version with a sack, but, to me, the sack is superfluous. This baby holds a good amount of ink. (Exact quantities I don't know, but at least a half of a syringe purchased from Goulet).

 

What's very different from any other pen that I've seen is the channel were ink flows from the body into the feed. It about the size of a needle. It's tiny. I originally though I received a defective pen because it looks like there's a plug in there. That being said, thick high pigmented inks might have trouble flowing through it.

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This pen isn't easy to clean either for the same reason. You can't flush the pen out very well because the hole is so small and if you do, you'll need a larger space for excess water spillage. It doesn't have the east of a cartridge/converter.

 

Cost and Value

 

It's sold at most retailers for $25 USD, which I think is a fair price for the pen. It give the student an option for a cheap ebonite and the eyedropper experience/benefit. In that way, has found a niche with very few comparable competitors.

 

Conclusion

 

I'm glad I didn't judge this book by its cover. The more I wrote with it the more I liked it. The scratch has greatly decrease after extended writing, making it a joy to write with. It would definitely be an option in my mind as "the pen" for my next work of fiction because of its light weight and high ink capacity. Well, worth your $25.

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Edited by ClericalWriter

"Those who practice philosophy in the right way are in training for dying, and they fear death least of all men." - Plato

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Very nice review. I too recently purchased a Boyle in red. The more I use this pen, the more I enjoy it. Starts up every time, lays time a very nice, consistent line, with some flex.

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Very nice review. I too recently purchased a Boyle in red. The more I use this pen, the more I enjoy it. Starts up every time, lays time a very nice, consistent line, with some flex.

 

Thanks. It definitely takes a little wearing in, sort of like a good pair of boots.

"Those who practice philosophy in the right way are in training for dying, and they fear death least of all men." - Plato

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Thanks for the review.

 

I got two Boyles recently. A green eyedropper, like yours, and a brown squeeze filler. I inked the squeeze filler first. Feels good in the hand. My nib writes much closer to fine than medium.

 

I'm strugging to find an ink that works best in these ebonite pens. Both the Boyle and Mendeleev are pretty wet writers and I'm seeing a lot of feathering and bleed thru. I'll get there.

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Thanks for the review.

 

I got two Boyles recently. A green eyedropper, like yours, and a brown squeeze filler. I inked the squeeze filler first. Feels good in the hand. My nib writes much closer to fine than medium.

 

I'm strugging to find an ink that works best in these ebonite pens. Both the Boyle and Mendeleev are pretty wet writers and I'm seeing a lot of feathering and bleed thru. I'll get there.

 

I think on a another review Tyler told how to get the nib unit out and you could adjust the feed to make a flow a bit drier. I didn't get any feathering after I cleaned everything.

"Those who practice philosophy in the right way are in training for dying, and they fear death least of all men." - Plato

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I'm using Organics Edgar Allan Poe Raven Red and there is no feathering in my Boyle, no mater what paper I'm using.

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I think on a another review Tyler told how to get the nib unit out and you could adjust the feed to make a flow a bit drier. I didn't get any feathering after I cleaned everything.

 

Do you have a link of that review?

 

I could not get the nib out of my Boyle either.

 

PS.. I scratched off the white writing with my finger nail. I love the instant vintage look it has with it's beautiful Ebonite.

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Do you have a link of that review?

 

I could not get the nib out of my Boyle either.

 

PS.. I scratched off the white writing with my finger nail. I love the instant vintage look it has with it's beautiful Ebonite.

 

Sure thing

 

Here

"Those who practice philosophy in the right way are in training for dying, and they fear death least of all men." - Plato

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I planned to purchase one of these pens when I visited a retailer who had several different types. After handling the pens I chose to pass on them. I like ebonite pens but these had some things that I did not care for. I looked at the squeeze fill versions. I understand the large number of threads on the body, for eye dropper security, but I found the number of turns to remove the cap excessive. There are many pens available with these German nibs and so they are nothing special. The final reason I did not make the purchase was because of the black colored section. I have several ebonite pens both expensive and in. They all have section colors that match the body. This sort of summed up the pen as something sort of cheap and job lot. I wish Organics Studio nothing but success, I purchased some of their ink at the time that I passed on the pens and am happy with it.

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I'm using Organics Edgar Allan Poe Raven Red and there is no feathering in my Boyle, no mater what paper I'm using.

I have a Special on its way to me with a Bottle of the Poe ink so I am glad to hear this!

I like the size of Indian made eyedroppers but have had very poor luck getting them to work well. I am interested to see how this one goes, I hope I get a "good one"

Thanks for the review ClericalWriter, it is a nice review and it reminded me to get on with obtaining one of these pens!

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